NOT Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

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NOT Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

By Meri Ulrich
July 27, 2006

Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity by a jury of her peers. I disagree with the verdict and with Texas law.

Here's why:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M'Naghten_Rule

http://www.texasdefenselaw.com/recent_news/

I believe that Andrea was mentally ill when she drowned her five children. I have no doubt in my mind that this is true. What I have a problem with is the Texas law interpretation of the insanity defense.

I could have lived with a verdict of Guilty BUT Insane which would then require Ms. Yates to receive treatment for her mental illness and then serve time for her crime.

Not guilty? I don't think that applies here. She DID drown those five children no matter what her mental state was at the time so how can she be NOT GUILTY in any sense of the word? She called the police after she drowned those children and admitted what she had done and that she knew it was wrong. She would NOT have met the criteria for the original McNaughton Rule defense.

The rules have been changed in a lot of States because they wanted to make it harder for a defendant to be convicted under the insanity defense but as you can see in my Texas link above, those changes worked against the Prosecution in this case.

Do I think that Yates should receive treatment? Yes, absolutely. Do I think that when it comes time for her to be allowed to re-join society based on the conclusions of the practitioners of a VERY inexact science that Yates should go free? NO, absolutely not.

Someone has to pay for the crime she committed. Making her whole again does not punish her for what she did. Treating her mental disorder does not bring justice to those children.

She killed them one by one as they struggled to live. Someday she should have had to pay for what she did.

I disagree with the verdict rendered today and I am shocked and disappointed that the jury didn't realize that Andrea Yates could walk among them as soon as the doctors agree that she is under control. She was given medication prior to killing her children and it was cut off. Who's to say that even if the medication is provided to her free of charge that she will take it if she goes free? Who can be sure that she won't kill someone else while she suffers once again from whatever mental disability caused her to commit murder in the first place?

Andrea Yates committed murder times five and she will not spend one more moment of her life behind bars for what she did. Insane or not...she must pay for a crime of this magnitude aside from being treated and given medication and eventually let go to live her life. Those children no longer have any life. Andrea Yates took it from them.

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About the author: Meri has a Medical/Legal background and is a former forensic researcher specializing in psychological profiling.

https://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=27335

Email: writers2@cox.net

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